Bulletin 7.0

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The next Michigan Citizen Corps Council meeting will take place on Monday,

September 8, at 1:00 pm at Gilmore Center, Bronson Methodist Hospital Kalamazoo. Please contact us at (517) 373-4998 if you have any questions regarding the meeting.

What's Inside?

  1. Citizen Corps Program Coordinator onboard!
  2. CERT training scheduled for September
  3. Secretary Ridge speaks at National Citizen Corps Conference
  4. New partners join Citizen Corps
  5. Homeland Security Youth Mentoring Coalition
  6. Homeland Security Funding News!
  7. Homeland Security Announces Grants To Michigan Fire Departments

08/04/03: Citizen Corps Program Coordinator Onboard

Gary Zulinski is now on board as the Program Coordinator for the Michigan Citizen Corps. Gary is a retired Police Captain from Dearborn Heights Police and comes to us with an impressive resume and should do well to promote and maintain the Michigan Citizen Corps initiatives. He can be reached at or

(517) 241-3867 or through the MCSC office.

08/04/03: CERT Training Scheduled for September

The first of three sessions of CERT Train the Trainers is scheduled for a September 22 – 24, 2003 at the Crest Center in Oakland County. The goal is to have 100 trainers and 5000 citizens trained by 2004. Announcement and trainer qualifications to be posted soon!

07/30/03: Remarks For Secretary Tom Ridge Citizen Corps Annual Conference/ Washington, DC

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge spoke to the audience attending the National Citizens Corps Conference at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. Secretary Ridge’s comments are below:

“Thank you for inviting me to join you. I'm delighted to be here today.

It's an honor to stand among a group that has so diligently worked to make America's communities safer - and to make those communities better prepared to combat the adversaries of our peaceful daily existence.

I want to thank the leaders of the Local Citizen Corps Councils and the National Citizen Corps Council members that are here today. I also want to thank the State Citizen Corps Points of Contact.

The people of Citizen Corps resolved to engage the willingness of people in every corner of the country - and that resolve has made a great difference in America's ability to protect our homeland. Well done!

After the attacks of September 11, 2001 - selfless individuals all over the country asked, "What can I do to help? How can I get involved?"

Citizen Corps answers that question every day by offering people countless ways to serve their country - whether it be through a neighborhood watch program, by volunteering at the local police department or by lending critical support to first responders….all so that professional officers are able to devote more of their time to frontline duty.

As President Bush has said, "If you want to join us, if you want to make the country stronger, participate; help somebody in need." Thousands of Americans are heeding his call - and because of it, America's communities are safer, stronger and better prepared to respond to threats of terrorism, to crime, and to other emergencies and disasters.

To be sure, you have seen a year of incredible accomplishments.

  • At this time last year, there were 100 Local Citizen Corps Councils. Today, there are 700 active Local Citizen Corps Councils, all making the most of community strengths to implement the Citizen Corps programs;
  • And in one year, Citizen Corps has gone from 10 state and territory councils…to 50;

What's more, the life-saving programs that these Councils work to coordinate are flourishing.

  • The Volunteers in Police Service program has made incredible strides. At this time last year, approximately 70 police departments were participating. Today, more than 600 registered VIPS programs (Volunteers In Police Service) aid our police officers in towns all across the country;
  • 13,000 registered Neighborhood Watch Groups stand guard over America's families;
  • In 42 communities, the Medical Reserve Corps has taken shape to coordinate the skills of health care professionals so that even more caring individuals are tending those in need;
  • And more than 36 million dollars in grant money has been provided to state and local governments to start or accelerate CERT Training (Community Emergency Response Team)…with a 2 year goal of 400,000 trained men and women in communities across the country.

These results are incredible - and the fruits of your labor are immediate and widespread. People who serve as members of the Citizen Corps become an integral thread in the community fabrics that blanket America.

And America depends on that fabric, not just in times of national crisis, but during the everyday challenges of human life. Citizen Corps is an army of caregivers that march among us - that help to connect the threatened to the defender, as well as the hurting to the healer.

As you well know, none of this would be possible without the partnerships that Citizen Corps enjoys with the Department of Justice (Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service), the Department of Health and Human Services (Medical Reserve Corps), and your new federal partners, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], the EPA, and the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools under the Department of Education.

By tapping the expertise and programs of our Federal family, Citizen Corps is working to bring these resources to the state and to local communities around the country. But it's worth noting: Homeland security is not a federal strategy. It's a national strategy - one in which everyone has a role to play.

In that spirit, I'd also like to thank the American Red Cross, the Points of Light Foundation, the International Volunteer Firefighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council, the International Association of Police Chiefs, the National Safety Council, as well as others who work with Citizen Corps to educate and train the volunteers that help support our nation's first responders.

I can't stress enough how important it is that we reach out to citizens so that everyone is prepared for whatever emergency may come America's way.

But that can only happen if we can get all sectors of the population working toward this goal - that means federal, state and local authorities; businesses; schools; communities...and especially individual citizens.

As leaders of the Citizen Corps, you've taken up the responsibility of harnessing the great power of the American spirit - and channeling it into volunteer service. That service translates into a better prepared nation - one where you're helping us to reach one individual, one family, one neighborhood, one community at a time.

For our part, the Department of Homeland Security is working hard to supply the public with the best information possible - to help them prepare well before an emergency occurs with our Ready Campaign.

The American people are avidly seeking ways to better prepare themselves and their loved ones, and Citizen Corps is an important vehicle for that information.

I encourage you to work to deliver the Ready message at the grassroots level so that preparedness information is put into the hands of each individual.

All of this - the creation of Citizen Corps, the implementation of the Ready Campaign - it's not just a response to terrorism. We believe it's a deterrent. Americans do not live in fear. We instead stand alert and prepared. And that's a terrorist's greatest fear.

Also, it's important to note that taking charge of your own safety, that of your family's, that of your employees and your businesses -- it doesn't mean that you're charging into a fight alone.

The Department of Homeland Security stands with you. We've made great progress as a Department during our first six months. As a result, we can say that America is far safer, more secure and better prepared than it was nearly two years ago.

We're safer and better prepared because every day we collect more intelligence, share more information, inspect more passengers and containers, guard more borders and coastline, and better equip and train our "first responders" through funding - more than $4 billion to date. And we're safer because, every day, with your help, we empower more citizens and more families to take steps to ensure their own protection.

We have made great progress to secure our nation, our way of life and our freedoms from terrorism.

And yet, the best way to deter terrorism, of course, is to go after terrorist networks where they live and operate.

And we should all be proud of our men and women in uniform who have served that cause - and their country - so well.

These successes have turned what was once a late-night knock on the door by militant Iraqi soldiers - into a knock of opportunity - and freedom - and hope for a better life for the Iraqi people.

What's more, these military successes have significantly improved our national security, and that goes hand in hand with homeland security.

So let me close by saying: Thank you for your dedication, thank you for your perseverance - and most of all, thank you for the example you set for others who are following your lead. The work of the Citizen Corps is vital to the protection of our country…and we are tremendously grateful for it.

Again, thank you for your kind invitation. It's been a privilege to be with you today…”

7/30/03: New partners join Citizen Corps.

Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, today announced an official affiliation between Citizen Corps and three new federal partners at the National Citizen Corps Conference in Washington, D.C. Under Secretary Brown signed the affiliation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) within Department of Education. These federal partnerships will help raise awareness about public and family safety, provide opportunities for citizen participation in training and public safety programs, and strengthen Citizen Corps Councils across the nation.

See Attached for full article FEMA FEMA Partners In Preparedness With Federal Departments And Agencies Through Citizen Corps.htm

7/29/03: FEMA And American Red Cross Partner In Preparedness Through Citizen Corps

Release Date: July 29, 2003
Release Number: HQ-03-158

Washington, D.C. -- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response, today announced an official affiliation between the American Red Cross (ARC) and President Bush's Citizen Corps initiative. At the National Citizen Corps Conference in Washington, D.C., Under Secretary Brown signed this affiliate partnership with Marsha Evans, President and CEO of ARC. The partnership between Citizen Corps and ARC will help raise public awareness about appropriate actions to take regarding disaster preparedness and response, public health issues, life supporting first aid, and volunteer service. ARC will help promote the formation of local Citizen Corps Councils through local ARC chapter participation and assist these Councils by providing public education and citizen training in emergency preparedness and lifesaving sills, to include support for Community Emergency Response Team training.

"The affiliation between Citizen Corps and the American Red Cross through President Bush's Citizen Corps initiative will help raise public awareness about disaster preparedness and response," Brown said. "I've worked with the American Red Cross for years, and I look forward to helping expand the role citizens play within their community to be more secure and better able to respond to disasters of all kinds."

The National Citizen Corps Conference, held in Washington, D.C. this week, brings together 250 state, local, and federal representatives from across the country, affiliate Citizen Corps programs, and the National Citizen Corps Council. The Conference allows participants to share information and best practices, as well as discuss collaboration among state, tribal, and local Citizen Corps Councils to identify opportunities for volunteer service to support first responders.

The agreement adds the ARC as an affiliate to the four federal charter Citizen Corps programs: Neighborhood Watch and Volunteers in Police Service, administered by the Department of Justice; Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), administered by FEMA; and Medical Reserve Corps, administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. The ARC also joins the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Local Emergency Planning Committees of the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools of the Department of Education, Amateur Radio Relay League, National Safety Council, Points of Light Foundation, National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, National Volunteer Fire Council, National Fire Protection Association, Save A Life Foundation, and The U.S. Junior Chamber as Citizen Corps affiliate programs.

Under the direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, Citizen Corps is a community-based initiative to engage all citizens in homeland security and community and family preparedness through public education and outreach, training opportunities, and volunteer programs. Programs under the Citizen Corps umbrella include federally sponsored programs and other activities that share the goal of helping communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to all-hazards.

Citizen Corps encourages all Americans to take an active role in building safer, stronger, and better-prepared communities.

For more than 122 years, the mission of the ARC has been to help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. A humanitarian organization led by volunteers, guided by its Congressional Charter and Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, the ARC is woven into the fabric of our communities with 940 chapters nationwide. In fulfilling its mission, the ARC is empowering Americans to take practical steps to make families, neighborhoods, schools and workplaces safer, healthier and more resilient in the face of adversity.

On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages Citizen Corps, the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.

07/29/03: Homeland Security Youth Mentoring Program

The Good Knight Crime Prevention Programs have been featured in Parade

Magazine, on 48 Hours and America's Most Wanted, as one of the most innovated

programs in the country through the use of a multi-cultural knighthood theme. In

1999, at a White House ceremony, we were honored to receive the prestigious

President's Service Award Silver Medal in the area of Public Safety for the implementation of the Good Knight Program to millions of families.

In 2002, Congress provided funding so that 15,000 locations nationwide could receive the Homeland Security Youth Mentor Kits to activate this award winning crime prevention program. These Kits are complimentary by simply registering at our website ( as an Adult Site Coordinator to any interested volunteer. In 2003, Congress provided additional funding for the bilingual (Spanish/English) aspect of this project. If you are interested in receiving these materials, please visit These Kits contains everything each adult volunteer needs to immediately implement this crime prevention program in an easy, fun manner.

We can provide these complimentary materials to adults within business, volunteer centers, businesses, community groups, RSVP, faith based organizations, scout troops, after school programs, volunteer centers, schools, and other interested volunteers. Our program is great for upcoming national volunteer days such as Join Hands Day, Kids Care Clubs Week, Make A. Difference Day, or Family Volunteer Day. Our program is flexible and only limited by the presenter's imagination. It is great for school community service hour projects as well.

Please help us in your community by locating even one site to participate.

Please forward this email to those in your community that you think might have

an interest in receiving these free materials.

If you have any questions about our program, would like discount rates on bulk orders of our educational materials, would like to become a corporate sponsor, or would like to be placed on our email newsletter list, please feel free to contact us at . Bilingual materials (Spanish/English) will also be available shortly, visit our website and add your name to our email list to be notified when distribution will begin.